Shardul Shroff will start in Bangalore in the next month with between five or six partners aiming for a headcount of 30 to 35 fee-earners, while in Mumbai organic expansion through lateral hires would continue to grow to up to 100 lawyers by year-end.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, which was officially launched yesterday, would have a regional managing partner concept for each location with senior partner Pallavi Shroff becoming managing partner for Delhi and Gurgaon, with the other geographical managing partners to be decided.

Shardul Shroff would be executive chairman in the new firm, he told Legally India in an interview today.

Update: A press release from the firm stated:

At its foundation, the new firm will be based on a strong and independent governance structure with a Management Board. The Management Board will comprise of Shardul Shroff, Pallavi Shroff, Gunjan Shah and Jatin Aneja (all Equity Partners); along with M. Damodaran (Ex-Chairman SEBI) as an Independent Member; and John Handoll, Senior Advisor – European and Competition Law, as an Advisor to the Board.

The firm will add more independent members to its Board shortly. The Management Board will be supported by an Operations Committee, comprising the Managing Partners, the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, and the National Practice Group Heads – another new change to the firm’s operating structure.

He also confirmed that the six partner-level hires reported by Legally India to date for its Mumbai office:

Shroff added that a seventh lateral partner was currently serving his notice period elsewhere, and that Shroff was currently in talks with another 15 other senior hires which could materialise in the coming months: "

We've got about 7 partners in Mumbai and at least 15 people we're talking to - it's just a question of time and the right fit, that's the process we are following. Looking at people in light of what kind of mindset do they have. We want to do it in a cautious way.Started as of today - it's already on - 3 offices in Mumbai are functional [Monday].

In a few months we will have around 30-40 fee-earners (in Mumbai) including partners. By the year end we should have surpassed 100.

No merger was currently planned to take place in Mumbai, he said, where the firm had taken offices in Express Towers, Lentin Chambers and in a smaller mid-town family office, as reported by Legally India.

The firm has taken a Bangalore office in Lavelle Road, which would become operational within the next month with around five or six partners, as lateral hires would end serving their notice periods at competitors.

By 2017 the firm would reach a headcount of around 600, said Shroff.

The full interview with Shardul Shroff will be published shortly. An in-depth interview with his brother Cyril Shroff will be published in Mint tomorrow, after a preview of his hiring strategy was published in Legally India today.

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No not a sinking ship at all... It seems to me that SAM may have negotiated for s merger but had the right cards up his sleeve.. Consolidated his shape and form while the merger talks may have been underway.. Had the merger partner point out his deficiencies or the issues which constrained him.. Maybe after all.. He turned out to be the winner.. What needs to be noted is the the relative junior partner status of him mumbai hawks.. And that he himself is moving to Mumbai.. I wonder!!!!

What's sad is your understanding of this situation as a zero sum game. There are various ways to run a firm, with very specific strategic outcomes. Shardul has always disagreed with Cyril on a very specific future plan, and any merger partner for SAM would also need to agree to it. Given how divisive the topic is, it cannot be a surprise to anyone that a merger takes time to finalise.

This break-up is just a minor glitch. Under the able helmsmanship of Shardul Sir and Ma'am the new firm will bravely forge ahead. That apart they have senior partners like Gunjan, Jatin, Amit Kumar, KT and Akila who are leaders in their respective practice areas and of course Nava Chopra, a brilliant leg mind and an extraordinary strategist.